Judicial System

Judicial System in Saudi Arabia
to a conciliation office even if the dispute was brought to
a court; this meant to reinforce the standing of conciliation
as a mechanism for resolving disputes. It was reported
that caliph Omar Ibn Al Khatab (My Allah peace be upon
him) once said, ‘urge and insist on disputants till they get
reconciled as resolving matters through a judge will likely
result in creating grudge between people’. (1)
b) Arbitration:
Arbitration, as a means for resolving disputes was well
known in Islamic jurisprudence before fourteen centuries,
and the Holy Quran provides for arbitration as a means for
resolving marital differences in the verse, “If you fear a
breach between them twain (the man and his wife), appoint
(two) arbitrators, one from his family and the other from
her’s; if they both wish for peace, Allah will cause their
reconciliation. Indeed Allah is Ever All-Knower, Well-
Acquainted with all things” (Surah An-Nisa, verse (35)). All
books on Islamic jurisprudence on all Fiqh Schools contain
detailed chapters on arbitration explaining its provisions in
striking clarity.
The Saudi legislators dealt with arbitration in the year
1350H (corresponding to 1931) in the Commercial Court
Law, where disputant traders were allowed to appoint an
appropriate arbitrator and then court will uphold the arbitrator
decision whenever it was duly made. The Saudi Chambers of
(1) Ibid, 1 /84.
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